Users are increasingly relying on immediate access to many types of data for their entertainment, work and communication needs. Users access cell phones to communicate over wireless communication networks. Entertainment appliances, such as televisions, receive cable signals to view television shows and movies on demand. Users access the internet to exchange e-mail communications and communicate audio, video, multimedia and textual data. Delivering these various data services requires a communications infrastructure.
One type of infrastructure being adapted to deliver broadband communication services to user premises is the power distribution system infrastructure. Power line communication systems include devices for transmitting data signals over power lines such as high, medium, or low voltage power line. Such systems also may utilize other communications media.
One challenge in implementing data communications over power lines—especially high speed data communications—is the noisy environment of the power lines. In other words, power lines are susceptible to electrical “noise” or interference from external sources. In some power line communication systems, this noise may hamper or prohibit reliable high speed communications. Furthermore, power lines are very lossy at the frequencies used for high speed power line communications. There are, however, federal regulations that limit the power than can be used for communications over the power lines in various frequency bands. Accordingly there is a need for a power line communication device that communicates effectively under varying signal conditions.
Further, as the demand for high data rate services of all kind increases, there is a need for power line communication devices to be more versatile, more effective, and more economically efficient at delivering data services.